I love photographing swap meets. Some of the greatest characters I have ever known and the colorful detritus of civilization mixed into a wonderful potpourri of hope, elation and despair.
Leslie and I cut our teeth on the pavement. We have enormous respect for those brave souls who get up at two or three in the morning to earn their daily wage in such a fashion, after a week of hunting and gathering.
Not an easy route by any means but the ones who prosper and manage to survive are a beloved and special breed.
Some of these people have been my friends for going on forty years now.
Like smiley here, John A. Once a major child actor in Hollywood, we did the great Pickwick show together, decades ago. Wonderful guy with a heart of gold.
I really love many of these people! Strong, confident people.
Pickers and dealers, rich or poor, young and old, all devoted to their passion.
Colorful people! Survivors.
Yesterday was a good day. I dropped off a return and picked up an exceedingly rare work by Joe Mora as well as a great ship oil by Joe Duncan Gleason.
I met a South African artist named Nadine Wener who created these cool embellished mannikin heads about forty years ago in New York City. I bought six heads and one of her great modernist paintings. Not sure what I will do with the heads but there was a line of people behind me that wanted to buy them.
You see some very strange stuff out there.
I found some wonderful glass and a Mexican copper pitcher I took a fancy too. All in all it was a great walk and a good day. Leslie found some stuff she loved too.
And you can't beat the people watching!
I didn't go crazy and take a million shots but I snapped a few. A great place to plumb the visual image bank.
I am not sure why but swap meet people are my favorite people to shoot.
I saw this man walking around two or three times. He had the biggest smile pasted on, like he had just heard the best joke in the world.
Lots of happy people yesterday, including me.
No comments:
Post a Comment